


Bubbles and Cookies

by ThirdGenerationRockette



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 18:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13576215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirdGenerationRockette/pseuds/ThirdGenerationRockette
Summary: “Can I just say again how happy I am we got things moving on the renovation?” She closes her eyes again and he feels her feet move to rest on the outside of his thighs. “I really don't know how I would have survived these past weeks without this bathtub.”





	Bubbles and Cookies

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, we'll begin the great re-posting of 2018 with a brand new piece of fluff. A little thank you to everyone who cared so much more than I thought anyone would that I was gone. Bless you all, I had no idea so many of you would miss my scribblings <3
> 
> The older stuff will reappear as and when, I promise. I was having huge issues with the formatting of the files I had saved, and was on the verge of giving up when the wonderful [@carolinenite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinenite/pseuds/carolinenite) stepped in and offered absolutely invaluable help with file conversion. Big, big thanks to her! So, it will be posted gradually, we'll get there eventually.
> 
> In the meantime, enjoy this fluffy little one-shot :)

The first thing he notices is the silence. The second is the smell.

It's the smell of something good, something that causes his stomach to flip over and gurgle in an automatic response. The list of things he loves about Mackenzie is an endless one, and her cooking features pretty high up. He still remembers making the assumption when they first met that she had no kitchen skills, and how he prepared himself to lie about dinner when she invited him to her place, only to find that cooking was yet another skill to add to her already impressive resumé. Dropping the bag of cookies onto the newly-finished kitchen counter, his attention turns back to the first thing he noticed when he walked in; the silence.

Kicking off his shoes, he heads down the hall, wondering if he's going to find her fast asleep and fully clothed just like he has twice already this week. There's no sign of her in their bedroom but her clothes are strewn across the bed in a way that suggests they were shrugged out of rather than carefully removed. He smiles, knowing now where he'll find her and adds his sweater to the pile of clothes before he moves to the bathroom, pushing the door slowly open.

“Hey, honey.” Her voice is soft, laced with weariness, and it looks like a superhuman effort for her to open her eyes and look up at him from where she's submerged under an insane amount of bubbles. “You didn't go for drinks?”

“No, I figured I should come home and undress my sleeping wife.” He walks over and leans down to kiss her, running his thumb across her cheekbone, not missing how exhausted she looks even as she manages a smile.

“Well, I managed it all by myself tonight.” She sounds disproportionately proud of herself and it's adorable, frankly. “There's a plate in the refrigerator for you.”

“I thought something smelled good when I walked in.” He smiles and leans in to kiss her again, her tired eyes and her cheeks flushed from the heat of the water she's soaking in proving impossible to resist. “Thanks.”

“Are you about to die if you don't eat right this second?” She bites her lip as she looks up at him.

“Not _right_ this second, no.” He watches as her teeth release her bottom lip to allow a sweet smile. “Do you need something?”

“Just you, Billy.” She sighs and reaches for his hand, tangling her fingers in his as she smiles even wider. “Get undressed and get in here with me while the water's still warm.”

*

“Can I just say again how happy I am we got things moving on the renovation?” She closes her eyes again and he feels her feet move to rest on the outside of his thighs. “I really don't know how I would have survived these past weeks without this bathtub.”

“I know,” he says, reaching under the water and stroking a hand down her foot, smiling as she lets out a satisfied sigh. “You're still insanely tired?”

“I can't explain it, it's like...” She pauses and pushes her hair out of her face before she goes on. “My brain is fine but at this point it feels like it has totally given up sending messages to my body, so of course my body takes that as a sign to just sleep. All the fucking time.”

“I'm sorry, honey, I wish I could do something.” He genuinely does, because he's never met anyone with more energy than Mackenzie and he knows this tiredness is driving her halfway to crazy.

“Logically I know it'll pass, I do. I've read it enough and been told by so many women that it passes, but still...” She stops to let out a yawn, followed by a grin that suggests she's aware of the unintentional comic timing. “It's...irritating.”

“Well, tomorrow's Saturday.” He smiles, pretty sure he's looking forward to sleeping in as much as she is. “We can sleep all fucking day if we want to.”

“Once again, thank God we picked up the pace on the damn renovation. Can you imagine how grumpy I'd be if we were still sleeping on a mattress?” She grins, and he's pretty sure she's aware he'd have moved them into a hotel before he'd let his pregnant wife sleep on the floor.

“How was your day?” He realises he hasn't seen her for hours, that it's been one of those days when he misses her being his EP because she was always right there and not way up on the corporate floors.

“It was fine,” she says, smiling and reaching for his hands, lacing her fingers through his. “I talked to Nancy this afternoon.”

“You did?” He doesn't know why he's surprised, he knows how much Nancy loves Mackenzie, and that the feeling is mutual. “How's she doing?”

“It's funny, you know.” She squeezes his fingers and her toes move slowly up his thigh. “She asked the same thing about you, and it made me realise that I hadn't...God, I'm so sorry, Billy.”

“Sorry?” He has no idea what she's apologising for but he doesn't like the sadness he's seeing in her eyes. “For what?”

“For not...” She sighs and her hands grip his a little more tightly. “Charlie was such a big part of your life, and you weren't here when he died, and I know how hard that was for you, but I haven't even asked how you're doing. Everything has been so up in the air, I've been so preoccupied with everything, and-”

“With a new, busy, stressful job and growing a brand new human being?” Saying it aloud makes it all seem even bigger than he already knew it was. “I should be asking how _you're_ doing.” 

“You do ask.” She raises an eyebrow and there's a trace of a smile creeping back onto her lips. “Every day. Sometimes several times. Sometimes almost constantly. Sometimes-”

“Alright, point taken.” He lifts their joined hands to his mouth and gently kisses her fingers. “I'm okay, Mackenzie.”

“Really though?” She quirks an eyebrow and fixes him with a firm gaze. “I mean, things have been pretty crazy lately, and...I miss him, so God knows you must too.”

“I never said I didn't miss him,” he says, his honesty seeming to satisfy her as her expression relaxes slightly and she nods. 

“i know,” she says quietly, before falling silent and tugging her bottom lip between her teeth again. “So, Nancy mentioned she was going to be in the city next weekend so I invited her to dinner on Saturday. I thought it would be good to see her, and I really think she'd like to see you.”

“Sure, that sounds good.” He can read between the lines, and she's right, he probably _has_ been avoiding talking to Nancy. Charlie being gone is hard enough and, selfishly, he knew that seeing Nancy would only make it worse. “Let me know where you want to eat and I'll have Jenna make reservations.”

“Actually...I wasn't sure if if she'd feel like going out, and let's face it, I can barely stay awake beyond nine o'clock these days, so I invited her over here. I'll cook, we can relax, catch up, it'll be nice.” She slides her fingers gently from his and shuffles forward, slightly awkwardly, to kiss him. “As much as I hate to say it, this water's going cold. We should get out of here.”

“I brought cookies, if that's any kind of incentive?” He smiles as her eyes widen, and he answers her next question before she even needs to ask it. “Black and White, the ones you like.”

“ _Like_?” She lets out a snort and grins at him. “I _love_ them, Will. Right now I love them like I love peach iced tea. Hell, I love them almost as much as I love you.”

“If I'd gone for lesser quality cookies, I might be offended by that, but yeah...” He shrugs and climbs out of the tub, grabbing a towel for himself and wrapping one around her as she follows him. “Fair enough.”

“Thank you.” She blinks up at him, her eyes looked tired but somehow less weary.

“If a man can't bring his pregnant wife her favourite cookies then what can he do?” He takes her hand and pulls her into the bedroom.

He's pulling a t-shirt over his head when he notices she's still wrapped in her towel, sitting on the end of the bed watching him. Saying nothing, he reaches for her PJs, puts them on the bed beside her, and takes her hands, pulling her to her feet.

“What are you doing?” she asks, frowning slightly but not protesting when he removes her towel and slides her PJ top gently over her head.

“As far as I'm aware nobody has invented a way to get dressed by just sitting next to their clothes.” He hands her the other half of her PJs, smiling when she takes them from him and sits back down, sighing but putting them on anyway.

“Well, somebody _should_.” Standing up again, she picks up the discarded towel and hurls it in the vague direction of the laundry hamper. 

“I'm sure someone, somewhere is right on it.” He walks over to pick the towel up off the floor, depositing it in the hamper it was directed at. “Until then, you have me.”

“For which I am eternally grateful.” She takes his hand and heads for the door. “Alright, now I _am_ clothed, let's go and get you some dinner and me some cookies.”


End file.
